Team Butler makes a splash at Hobies

REGARDLESS of where he finishes in the open’s section this week, Vincentia’s Mick Butler is happy with what he has already achieved at the 20th Hobie 16 World Championships at Jervis Bay.

While Butler now has his sights set on the opens , he said competing with his 14-year-old son Patrick in the masters was a very fulfilling experience.

In some very trying conditions last week, the father/son duo managed to win one of their heats and eventually finished fifth overall.

“Only four teams out of about 80-odd managed to win a heat, so to do that as a father/son combination was pretty special,” he said.

They secured fifth place by finishing in an impressive third in their final race in what Mick described as some of the windiest conditions he has ever sailed in.

“It was purely about survival,” he laughed.

“I actually said to Pat before the start that we’ll be in the top 10 if we don’t tip over!

“It was just such a buzz coming to shore.

“We were only beaten by the eventual winners and a very strong team from Korea.”

While Mick is no stranger to the Hobie World Championships, it was the first time Patrick had competed at that level and Mick said he would be keen to keep the father/son combination going next time around.

“Getting bigger is all we really need to do now and in another 18 months or two years, he’ll obviously be older,” Mick said.

“I’d love to give it another crack, provided he still wants to race with his old man.

“If not, I have a daughter coming through who I race with quite a bit, so I’ve got another option up my sleeve.”